"Interest in family history is growing dramatically and the focal point of the research is at the public library – it's where the community comes first when they want to investigate their family history," said Rod Gauvin, ProQuest senior vice president. "Genealogy Center resources allow a library of any size to create a specialized collection for any demographic, any community. With this concept, libraries build a service for their communities that makes it easier to trace the pieces of any family's past and allows the library to connect with patrons on a personal level."

While libraries have a long history of service to genealogists, interest in family history is spreading to a broader mix of Americans. In fact, according to a recent survey, 73% of Americans now claim an interest in learning more about their roots -- up from 60% in 2000. ProQuest built the suite of Genealogy Center products to address essential information sources needed by all levels of genealogical research--plus, a second layer of resources provides customization. For example, a researcher who finds an ancestor's draft registration card in Ancestry Library Edition could then access Digital Sanborn Maps to track the address from the card, examining the neighborhood where that ancestor lived and worked.

Ten digitized historical newspapers provide primary data as early as 1764, but much of the deep customization is possible through ProQuest’s vast microfilm newspaper vaults, which provide historical records from towns of all sizes.  So a library in Zanesville, Ohio, could build a center with broad vital records coverage through HeritageQuest Online … provide Midwestern news analysis of the day through the digital Chicago Tribune archive … and then track the day-to-day of the town's founders through the Zanesville Times Recorder on microfilm.

Microfilm offerings are translated to a digital environment through the availability of the ST200 digital microfilm viewer. Replacing a traditional microfilm viewer, the ST200 lets researchers share images from the microfilm, e-mail them over the internet or save them to a hard drive or LAN.

"This is a breakthrough service for libraries," said Gauvin. "ProQuest has identified and developed all the best resources for genealogy and put in them in one spot so libraries can get just the right mix for their patrons."

For more information about ProQuest Genealogy Center resources visit online at www.il.proquest.com.